Srinagar, June 19
With the help of the Centre, the state government has taken several measures to promote tourism.This was stated by Minister for Tourism and Culture Nawang Rigzin Jora at a press conference here yesterday.

He said the Centre had decided to launch 35 new tourism projects in the state. Under the projects, besides the development of new tourism spots, the upgradation of the infrastructure at the existing tourism places would get the top priority.

Jora said the Union Tourism Ministry had also approved mega circuits for Kashmir, Jammu and Ladakh.

The minister said a water centre was being developed at Mansabal Lake and from the next year, no motor boat would be allowed in the Dal Lake.

He said to attract more tourists to the Valley,a laser show in the Dal Lake would be organised for which Rs 12 crore had been approved by the Centre.

The minister said adventure tourism would receive the attention of the government, and added that after the completion of the second phase of the Kangdoori-Marrishoulder chair lift this year, an international skiing event would be organised at Gulmarg. He said this year, Heli skiing events had been organised at Gulmarg and Pahalgam.

The minister said an Everest Marathon would be held in Leh in August. He said a rafting championship would also be organised during September this year, and added a national-level adventure tour operators’ convention would be held in Srinagar.

It was also informed that in order to provide skill training under the tourism sector to the youth, a hospitality certificate course would be introduced in six ITIs of the state.

The foodcraft centre in Jammu would be upgraded to the level of a hotel management institute. 

Srinagar, June 19
The long-awaited demand of the people in general and those associated with the tourism sector in particular for frequent early morning and evening flights was met for the first time on Saturday when the NC president Farooq Abdullah took the early morning flight from New Delhi and reached Srinagar at 7 am.

The Central government has already initiated various measures and drawn up an action plan in consultation with the state government to promote and market Jammu and Kashmir tourism. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has welcomed the starting of morning flights from 7.am and hopes that soon flights will be operated from the Srinagar Airport up to 5.30 pm. He added that people visiting the Kashmir valley would soon be able to get flights as per convenience and weekend schedules. Omar said it would definitely help boosting the tourism industry in the state.

He was addressing the prize distribution function of the Sher-i-Kashmir Golf Tournament held at the Hotel Taj here yesterday. The Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy, Farooq Abdullah, Minister of Tourism Rigzin Jora, Minister of State for Home Tourism and Urban Development Department Nasir Aslam Wani, MLA Mustafa Kamal and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. — TNS

Poonch, June 19
Ashiq Hussain (10) had to pay a heavy price to the Indo-Pak border tension. He has lost both hands and an eye in a landmine blast near his home in Khardi Karmara village near the LoC. He may go completely blind as the second eye is also seriously wounded.

After being discharged from the hospital, he was brought home today to his village, about 6 km from Poonch.

Tragedy struck when Ashiq was playing in a stream near. A mine buried in the rubble exploded, injuring him seriously. The place is about 1 km from the cross border trade centre at Chakkan da Baag.

Ashiq’s mother Akhtar Bi is still in shock after coming to know about his condition. She did not eat any thing today and was repeatedly calling up relatives, who were bringing Ashiq home. His father works as labourer in Saudi Arabia.

Earlier, Ashiq was taken to District Hospital, Poonch, from where he was referred to Government Medical Collage and Hospital, Jammu, and was later taken to Amritsar.

“He has lost one eye and both hands. Though his left leg was also seriously injured, doctors say the bone is intact,” Munishi Khan, the victim’s maternal grandfather, said.

Though the neighbours did not say anything against the security forces, they were apparently agitated over the way landmines were planted by the Army along the border especially near the residential areas.

The poor family has not even been approached by any official of the administration or the Army for financial assistance.

“On the day of the incident, some Army personal visited our home to inquire about the matter but thereafter no one came to help,” family members said.

“We arranged money from neighbours and relatives for the treatment of Ashiq,” a villager said, adding: “It is not a lone case. There are hundreds of such victims. All he will get from the government is Rs 400 per month, which is given to the physically handicapped people by the Department of Social Welfare.”

“Like others, he will also have beg to eke out sustenance,” he added.

Jammu, June 19
The two-day meeting of the executive committee of the state BJP,which concluded here today failed to revive the shattered confidence of party workers as the cross-voting episode overshadowed all other issues.

Though the party passed a few resolutions, a majority of the leaders present at the meeting said it was a lacklustre excercise.

“During the meeting, the party workers did not show any interest in participating in any discussion as their confidence in the leadership has been shattered after the cross-voting episode,” a senior BJP leader told The Tribune.

He said when a resolution was moved to condemn the UPA government on the corruption issue, a few party workers stood up and tried to draw the attention of the leaders to allegations that the BJP legislators had taken a huge amount for voting for National Conference (NC) and Congress candidates in the Legislative Council elections.

A few workers even blamed those who had been given a clean chit by the high command in the cross-voting controversy and said the “clean” MLAs had also lost the faith of the people.

Keeping in view the anger among the party workers, national leaders skipped the meeting.

“Usually, the general secretary in charge of the party affairs attends the state executive committee meeting to decide the future course of action, but this time, not a single senior leader turned up,” said an activist. He said neither the state unit nor the high command was in a position to revive the BJP as the local leaders had lost the confidence of the people of the region.

Instead of deputing the general secretary,the party high command sent the organising secretary,Ram Lal, who attended the meeting for an hour.

He assured the workers that action would be taken against those who voted for the NC and the Congress candidates.In his address, he repeatedly mentioned the cross-voting episode but failed to convince the workers, sources said.“Some workers tried to raise questions, but he left the meeting,saying that he has to go back”, the sources added. 

Srinagar, June 19
A large number of Kashmiri Pandits (KPs) gathered at the historic Sheetleshwar Bhairav Temple for special prayers here today. These were organised two decades after the eruption of militancy in the Valley. The Sheetleshwar Bhairav Dharam Sabha organised a “hawan” on the temple premises in the Habbakadal area.

A photo exhibition about the damaged temples in the Valley was also organised.

Talking to mediapersons, Sanjay Tickoo, president, Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS), refuted claims of the government about the number of Pandits killed during violence in the Valley. “The first list of a survey done by us suggests that 399 Pandits were killed since the eruption of militancy in early 1990,” he said.

Tickoo said the organisation was collecting the details of those killed in various areas of the Valley, which would add to the list of those killed by “state or non-state actors”. The government had claimed that only 219 Pandits had been killed since the eruption of militancy in Kashmir over the past two decades. The KPSS, which is an organisation of the Valley-based Pandits, has been contesting the government claims and alleging that the police has failed to investigate the killings, particularly the mass killings of the Pandits at a few places.

The KPSS leader said he had sought the intervention of the State Human Rights Commission and demanded a CBI enquiry into the killings. Tickoo said in the first 10 months of 1990, 302 Pandits were killed. He added that 152 killings took place during May and June, 1990, “as the people were trying to return …but the active militant organisations killed the KPs targeting them as Hindu extremists”. 

Katra, June 19
Katra, which is the base camp of the Mata Vaishno Devi shrine, is without an Executive officer of the Municipal Committee and employees have not been paid salaries for the past three months.

It is one of the highest earning committees in the state.

Residents here do not know why the Local Bodies Department shifted the then Executive Officer, Ravi Sharma, in the last month of the previous financial year. Another officer who was appointed in his place also retired on March 31 and since then, the committee has been headless.

“This important post has been lying vacant since more than three months, but the government has taken no steps to fill it,” said MLA, Katra, Baldev Raj Sharma.

Sharma added, “Thousands of devotees daily visit the place, but due to the non-serious approach of the government towards this holy town, the pilgrims are facing a lot of inconvenience”.

In the absence of any E.O, the sweepers had earlier threatened to go on a strike if their salaries were not paid in a week.

However, the government in order to pacify the employees paid them the salary for one month. Other employees, including engineers, clerks, stenos, and peons have also been waiting for their salaries for three months.

SC Bhagat, Director, Department of Local Bodies, said: “We have written to the higher officials to immediately fill the post because the employees are not getting their salaries, which is causing resentment among them”.

Bhagat added that he had also written to the commissioner- secretary and the principal secretary, to immediately release the salaries of all the employees and hoped that they would get the dues within a week.

“So far we have given the additional charge to the deputy director of our department, but the vacant post will be filled by a KAS rank officer shortly”, he added. 

Batote, June 19
Residents of the town, 12 km from the popular hill resort of Patnitop, are living in fear as a leopard has been declared a man-eater after recent attacks on two minors. One of the minors belonged to a family of nomads.

Drawing a parallel to the days of militancy, Mohammad Yusuf Mir, 60, a local hotelier says the town wears a deserted look as darkness falls. “The market is close by 8 pm against the normal time of 10 pm during the summer. Shopkeepers open their shops around 8 am instead of 6 am. Since Batote is situated on the national highway, roadside dhabas and restaurants, which used to remain open till 2 am are a thing of the past,” Mir said.

“I have never heard about leopards intruding into residential areas.We are feeling more terrorised than we felt during the days of militancy,” he said.

Since the leopard has targeted only minors so far, the parents are wary of sending their children to schools. The Wildlife and Forest Departments are making public announcements in order to help parents protect their children.“The attendance has become thin in schools. Now, parents accompany their wards to school and bring them back. We too do not allow the students to come and go alone,” said Abraham Irshad, Principal, St. Stephens School, Batote.

Wildlife Warden, Kishtwar, AR Malik, said the fear was justified as the movement of leopards in Batote was unprecedented. “Since we do not have any Census data, I cannot tell you the exact number of leopards. But one thing is certain that the number has increased. How come they strayed into this area is again a subject of analysis. Normally, leopards move in a radius of 40-60 km. But steps are being taken to handle the situation. On my recommendation, the chief wildlife warden of Jammu and Kashmir has issued an order to shoot the leopard,” said Malik.

Protective measures have been put in place jointly by the Forest Protection Force and the Widllife and Forest Departments. A control room has been set up besides increasing joint patrolling by both the departments and the police. The residents are being advised about the precautionary measures on the public address system. Two cages have also been set up at vulnerable places.

Fareed Ahmed, a local resident, said they felt terrorised after hearing that a leopard and its two cubs were seen near a local hospital in the area. It shows that the animals were moving closer to residential areas. The most feared areas included Boonbari, Gani, Shampa, Rakhjurug, Damtal, Haldnu, Chakua and Ludhaal Morh on the outskirts of the town.

Jammu, June 19
“Dard Ka Rishta (DKR)”— a television serial on air these days on DD Kashir, has triggered a debate among the families of missing persons in Kashmir because of its strong storyline. It has also compelled the family of a missing minor boy to approach the Kashmir police and urge it to change its line of investigation to trace him. The boy has been missing from Srinagar since 2008.

How criminals from outside the state take advantage of militancy in the state for their ulterior motives and how three women suffer the pain of separation is the crux of this serial. It has not only revived the memories of three-year-old Mehran Latief Mir of Srinagar, who disappeared in 2008, but has also compelled his family to request the police to think on the lines of the serial being aired on 
DD Kashir.

Inspired by Mehran’s case, the serial has been scripted by an IPS officer, Israr Khan. Now, the family of Mehran intends to approach the IGP, Kashmir, and the Kashmir Divisional Commissioner with a request to change the course of the investigation and trace Mehran in orphanages outside the state and childless couples, who adopted children from orphanages.

One of the veteran artistes of the state, Mushtaq Kak, who plays the character of a kidnapper in “Dard Ka Rishta”, summed up his experience with Nighat Productions, which has produced the serial.

“It is my first serial with Nighat Productions and the first stint as an actor with Director Jaidev Chakravorty. Working in the serial has been a good experience for me. We had to shoot in the Valley when the unrest was at its peak in the summer last year,” said Kak.

“After kidnapping a little girl, Sarah, from Kashmir, we take her to Mumbai and later sell her to a childless couple in Himachal Pradesh. As the serial progresses, the girl at the age of 16 comes to know about her real parents. Subsequently, not only Sarah but also her real mother and foster mother have to undergo mental agony because she (Sarah) has to choose between the two,” added Kak.

The in charge of the DD Kashir Channel, Dr Nazir Ahmed Butt, described the tele-serial as one of the best. “It has been evoking an overwhelming response. In fact, on the demand of the people we are re-telecasting the serial. We all know that even today several children are untraceable in the Valley. Some people blame the security forces while others blame militants for it, but the fact remains that there are families, which day in and day out live the pain of separation from their children,” added Butt.